This invention relates to handles for tools such as commercial lobby dustpans, and more particularly to handles that can be positioned where desired axially along and preferably also circumferentially around the shaft of a tool such as a lobby dustpan.
Commercial lobby dustpans having a dirt collection chamber mounted onto the end of a vertical shaft are well known. Such dustpans are used by cleaning personnel to collect refuse in the lobbies of buildings and other heavily trafficked areas. The vertical shaft allows a user to position the cleaning implement without having to stoop or bend as would be the case if a handheld implement such as a household dustpan were used.
Although shaft-mounted cleaning implements are typically provided with standard-length shafts, not all users are of the same height. With push brooms, sponge mops, and similar cleaning implements, the shaft generally assumes an angle relative to the surface to be cleaned that accommodates the user's height. Moreover, much of the work of using the tool is performed by the larger, stronger muscle groups such as those in the shoulders, back, and legs. With tools such as lobby dustpans, however, the shaft is held vertically. In order to manipulate the dustpan, the user must grasp the vertical shaft of the dustpan somewhere along its length and lift it with much greater reliance on smaller, weaker muscle groups such as those in the wrist and elbow. Thus using a conventional lobby dustpan tends to be both awkward and tiring. A design that is more sensitive to ergonomic concerns would therefore be desirable. It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a handle for a vertically-shafted tool such as a lobby dustpan that facilitates manipulation of the tool by the user. It is a further object of the invention to provide an adjustable handle for a lobby dustpan that accommodates various user heights and operating preferences.